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I bet it is accurate, but not reflective of actual risk for many of us. I live in Calif and the map makes the risk here look better than most states. My guess is that we have such huge urban areas where deer strikes are less likely that it brings down the overall percentage of deer accidents. Out in the rural areas I'm sure the numbers climb considerably.

We've eliminated or severly reduced the natural predators and provided the deer with abundant food sources via our agriculture. No wonder the populations are growing. As one who has had a motorcycle vs deer collision, I fully support any effort to cull the numbers down to more natural levels.

Unfortunately, hunting around here is far less common with so much of the private land being posted due to poor respect in the past for farmers property. Combined with the more strict hunting and gun laws, the human predator is being eliminted as well. Recently in BC, a couple of communities had such large problem deer populations, that a cull was planned but the uprising by the bleeding hearts all but shut it down despite the fact that the deer were attacking people and pets in the community.

Ed Miller, Calgary, AB
2008 K1200GT, 2009 F800GS
I can't wait to retire and have a fixed income. The one I have now is always broke.

.... more strict hunting .... laws, the human predator is being eliminted as well.

In my area, Pennsylvania, we have very liberal hunting laws and hunting tourism market is widely supported by a dedicated state game commission. That market demands maintaining a healthy herd........and it has been that way since the start of the conservation programs in the 1920's. Unfortunately, hunting pressure has really drop due to lack of participants and limited open space. Back in the day, a hunting crew would consist of 20~25 hunters working in a drive and watch scenario. The idea was you had "X" days of vacation to get your deer and organized drives were very productive. Fill the tags, break camp and go home.

Unfortunately, that concept of hunting didn't meet the criteria of true sportsmanship and has been pretty much abandoned. Today, we have a much smaller number of hunters spending a lot of time in the woods to identify a deer path which they'll then watch from a tree stand. That's great. These guys are really dedicated, but they only kill a few dear. And, the ones that don't get a deer, complain to the game commission and the elected politicians that there aren't enough deer.........

Bambi has brainwashed a lot of people.

Fripp Island, SC had a huge problem with their deer population. The response was to close the golf course for a week and invite bow hunters in. Several abattoirs volunteered their facilities to process the meat. Some pf the venison was given to the hunters; but most of it was given to the Department of Corrections and served in the staff and inmate dining facilities. I sat on a friend's deck with my buddy Steve Dalton and we took over 40 deer without leaving the deck. End of problem and a financial relief for the Dept. of Corrections.

Bald Head Island, NC had the same problem and the urban rich folks who built multi-million dollar homes there objected to that plan. Their solution? Dept. of Natural Resources will come in with dart guns and shoot the deer with birth control. "It is more humane". I wish I could dart some of these idiots before they can reproduce. You guessed it, there is still a huge deer population on Bald Head.

Today is Memorial Day. I will go to the service at the Battleship NC today at 11; then grill a venison flank steak. Just doing my part to help out.

Deer Vehicle Accidents

Oh boy - here I go.

If deer fit nicely into a category of speeding, texting or drinking drivers then someone would pay attention to the problem. Unfortunately there are typically 62,000 reported deer vehicle accidents a year in Michigan and no agency seems to be taking responsibility for reducing them. You can look at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), Michigan State Police (MSP) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as being the three major players. Two of these agencies have an obligation to maintain a degree of public safety and the other manages the wildlife resource. Last time I looked at Michigan's numbers, 62,000 accidents, 10 of them were fatalities and I think all ten were riders. One I knew. Can anyone argue that 62,000 deer vehicle accidents per year is acceptable.

The MDNR just made grants for 50K to increase deer habitat. You never hear of funds used in selected areas for better fencing, increasing clearings from roads, animal overpasses/underpasses (the feds used to fund these but I do not recall them using that money here), better signage. Recently they extended a highway in northern Michigan (131) placing a 4 foot fence on the side of the Right of Way (ROW). What would be the incremental cost of an 8 foot fence? What does a 4 foot fence accomplish? It identifies the ROW line I think. That's about it. Reduce the areas they can cross major roads and people will slow down more when they know the areas where they are crossing the roads as opposed to the present situation of they are crossing everywhere.

Some people say that's going to cost a lot of money. Can you imagine how much 62,000 deer vehicle accidents are costing us in additional comprehensive insurance coverage (that the insurance companies are making money not losing money from), police department time writing reports, lost time from work getting your vehicle fixed, and lost deer license tourism revenue from hunters. Injuries for some and death for others.

My comment on the deer vehicle accident map is that a lot of that is driven (sincerely) by the number of drivers. The more drivers you have close to good habitat the more accident numbers you will have. The media is not very good at detailing the risk per driver/rider. An example would be here in Michigan an Associated Press article ran two years ago that Grand Rapids was the number one place in Michigan for a deer vehicle accident which is a true statement for a deer but not for a driver. Because of the number of drivers in the area (and farmland which is great habitat) they had a huge deer vehicle count. But when you look at the driver to deer accident ratio of lightly populated areas you see your chances go up of hitting a deer in many cases. In northern Michigan you had a greater chance per driver/rider of hitting a deer than Grand Rapids. If you did a quick read/evaluation of the press you would think you need to pay more attention in GR than lets say Grayling, MI. Not so. Needless to say you really need to pay attention everyplace.

I think the subject deserves greater examination by the powers to be in looking out for riders welfare, AMA etc.

My riding buddy Howard, since before grade school, and I were riding to Alaska a few years ago. He collected up a deer and was lucky to have two broken arms and two broken legs in various areas that were able to be screwed back together and he is fine today. But he isn't riding. Near the same time a rider out of the shop I frequent hung it up after having a deer run into the side of their LT. Months later the owner of an area drug store had a deer run over her at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Sunday ride. She passed away. It makes you wonder how many riders are not riding because of an accident or scare.

I have vented enough but I will leave you with two thoughts from my buddy's accident.

1. If you can't see the bottom of the ditch next to the road assume there is a deer down there waiting to run out and sweep your front wheel from under you.

2. There are a couple important things you can't do for yourself as a guy with two broken arms.

...Reduce the areas they can cross major roads and people will slow down more when they know the areas where they are crossing the roads as opposed to the present situation of they are crossing everywhere....

I wish that were true but I wouldn't bet a penny on it.

Nobody in a cage slows down when they see a yellow deer sign on the road.

Heck, drivers don't even slow down when they see the flashing School Zone lights and a sidewalk full of six-year-old kids in front of an elementary school.

If there were real penalties for killing a deer / child / bicyclist in the street then people would drive more defensively and respectfully.

So does the chart mean that there are that many more deer in the high risk states, or that those of us living in them just aren't any good at swerving?

It confuses me too. Living in KY, which is obviously next door to WV & also has a similarly large deer population, why the collision difference? I just read last week that KY is rated the #1 state for a trophy head too, thus we have many with large racks as well. I can see less collisions in my native state of KS based on straighter hwys., etc. but otherwise maps not logical.

"If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time...I'd relax,I'd limber up... I would take fewer things seriously...take more chances... take more trips...climb more mountains...swim more rivers...eat more ice cream." Jorge Luis Borges at age 85.

One almost got me this morning riding along the Ohio river. I swear my mirror brushed its white tail. Thank god for good brakes!

My neighbors and I all take two a year. I'm very generous with the meat to family and friends and we still have about all we can eat in a year. According to dnr my land should support 1 deer. . . I take two a year and allow two other guys to hunt who usually take 1 apiece.

I think the only way you could get it under control is free processing for meat to shelters, etc. problem with that is the do-gooder idiots who protest and get the meat thrown out

One almost got me this morning riding along the Ohio river. I swear my mirror brushed its white tail. Thank god for good brakes!

My neighbors and I all take two a year. I'm very generous with the meat to family and friends and we still have about all we can eat in a year. According to dnr my land should support 1 deer. . . I take two a year and allow two other guys to hunt who usually take 1 apiece.

I think the only way you could get it under control is free processing for meat to shelters, etc. problem with that is the do-gooder idiots who protest and get the meat thrown out

I'm fairly certain that your state will allow farmers to cull the deer herds on their properties to limit crop damage. In my state, that's the rule and darn few farmers waste their time shooting deer or even ground hogs (our local variety of marmots). First of all, why would anyone want to handle a flea and tic covered deer carcass in the warm weather and just think of all those lovely nice houses that are built in the pleasant rural areas.........you had best pick your shot carefully.

BTW - I hunted deer for most of my life and, as a kid, hunted ground hogs with my father's purpose built varmint guns.

"...far better to kill them with a gun or bow and arrow, cleanly, fast, ..."

No, not really. There is nothing clean or fast about killing a deer with a bow and arrow. Deer can live in extreme pain for hours or days. It is quiet which, I believe, is why several communities around here (Eastern MA) allow bow and arrow "harvesting" but no guns. Like, it's OK to kill them but I don't want to hear it.

This is not to say I'd like to kill them with my car or bike. There is no convenient way to do a major thinning of the deer population. I'm afraid (literally) they'll be around for a long time, so caution and common sense is our means of survival. Avoid riding at dawn and dusk, if possible. Scan the roadside and into the woods, especially on country roads. At night watch for those blinking eyes along the road edge. At night, ride a safe distance behind a car that will extend your view ahead and perhaps clear a path.

Just when you thought smart phones were the biggest hazard, along comes Bambi and her family.

pete

Have you ever bow hunted???????

I've shot deer with a bow that literally died standing on their feet after my broadhead passed completely thru their heart and lung.

Ethical bow hunters would not take a shot they didn't believe would result in a quick and clean kill. And the hundreds of thousands of deer that are harvested by bow hunters annually mean that many less on the road which reduces deer/motorcycle collisions.